In my case, at my age, dabbling in high risk plays is a...

In my case, at my age, dabbling in high risk plays is a substitute for an affair (and based on my divorce, a less stressful way of losing money).

Of course a bank is not going to take a discount on its debt if it can help it. Publicly saying so is all very well but there comes a time in every banker's life (normally near the bottom of each banking cycle) when its easier to write off part of the loan to protect the bulk of it and to move on to the next cycle of bonuses, without the smear of doubtful debts overhanging your book.

providing these second rate assets are not too bad, and providing the Middle East does not blow up into religious civil war and create another '73 oil crisis (which only ended in Nov 1974 almost immediately after Edward Heath, then British PM, famously said "we are looking at the end of the world as we know it" - markets rallied so hard it took my breath away!)

All I know is, I have sold similar things before at @1.4c when all hope seemed lost only to watch the damn things rise tenfold or more in the fullness of time. So I've learned its ok to get up to nine completely wrong and take the tax losses (except now its in my pension account)on the basis when I get one right all is forgiven.

In fact I'm adding to my relatively small position at this level as it finally seems to have hit rock bottom (except if I'm completely wrong and it goes to zero of course).